Police: Indian official attacks hotel worker in Westfall Township

A senior official in the Indian Forest Service has been in the United States since July, awaiting a Pike County Court hearing after an incident in a Westfall Township hotel.

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By BETH BRELJE

poconorecord.com

By BETH BRELJE

Posted Jan. 3, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jan 3, 2013 at 7:19 AM

By BETH BRELJE

Posted Jan. 3, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jan 3, 2013 at 7:19 AM

» Social News

A senior official in the Indian Forest Service has been in the United States since July, awaiting a Pike County Court hearing after an incident in a Westfall Township hotel.

Surendra Prasad Mohapatra, 52, was charged with indecent assault and false imprisonment on July 24 while staying at the Hampton Inn, an Eastern Pike Regional Police report says.

According to the criminal complaint, Mohapatra called the front desk at 10:20 p.m. on July 23 to ask for help connecting his computer to the Internet.

An employee tried to give instructions over the phone but was quickly cut off when Mohapatra insisted, "You just come up here," the victim told police.

She went to his room.

He told her to sit at the desk. She did, and connected the computer to the Internet. Mohapatra asked her name and then asked if he could take a picture of her, according to a statement the victim made to police.

The victim agreed to the photo. Mohapatra took one of her smiling at the desk, and then he sat next to her and took a photo of them together.

The victim told police that Mohapatra put his hand on her breast and at first she thought it was an accident but then he tilted the camera toward her breast.

She stood up to leave and he asked if he could kiss her. She said no.

Mohapatra then grabbed both sides of her face and kissed both sides of her face repeatedly, according to the complaint.

The victim told police that she tried to push him away but he blocked the doorway. Then he grabbed both of her breasts and squeezed them tightly. The victim told police she was scared for her safety because he would not let go.

He asked if it made her happy, according to the complaint. She said no, told him she needed to get back downstairs and told him to let her go, but he still would not let go, the complaint said.

She was able to push him off and run to the door. Once in the hallway, the victim told police that she quickly walked to the nearest emergency exit, walked down the steps and collected her thoughts before telling a coworker. Police were called shortly after the incident.

Mohapatra is the regional chief conservator of forests at Sambalpur in Odisha, India, according to a report in the India Times. He was part of a group of 30 Indian officers visiting the U.S. for an executive training program studying international and domestic environmental policy making at the Maxwell School at Syracuse University in New York. The group also visited Grey Towers in Milford.

The Indian Consulate made arrangements for Mohapatra to stay in the US while he fights the case in court, according to an Indian newspaper, the Pravasi Herald.

Mohapatra was originally held on $35,000 bail but the consulate helped arrange bail to have him released.

"Mohapatra is unlikely to get any diplomatic immunity, as he does not have a diplomatic passport but an official one," the Pravasi Herald reported.

News of the incident was heavily reported in India, where some reports appeared biased toward Mohapatra. Some Indian news reports say he had a problem with the Internet connection; a woman came to his room but was unable to fix it and left and a few hours later police turned up and arrested him after the woman filed a complaint.